The Rover-Landers of BC

Hi everyone. I would like some recommendations on a GPS. I would use it for hiking. Have always used a compass and map but I'm now ready to join the future... I understand you can get them with Topographical map capabilities. Is this the case? What should I expect to spend? Recommendation? Vendors?

Alan
Rover Works B.C. Ltd

I just bought a Magellam Meridian Gold with topo Canada a few months ago and am very pleased with it.GPS Central in Calgary are very good and their prices are very competitive.The other places in Canada that I would recommend are Radioland in Toronto or Prairie Geomatics in Manitoba.

Mike
Long live the oily beast.

I've heard nothing but good from customers of GPS Central in Calgary. (http://www.gpscentral.ca)

Also was told by several folks to make sure the GPS has a USB or USB2 connection to facilitate it hooking up to modern computers. The older units are all serial cable based.

Dave

I have also ordered a couple of products from GPS Central (on-line), no problems & very good pricing.
PaulC.

I have a Lawrance 212 and a Magellan 315 and on occasion use a Garmin 12XL. All are 3 to 5 years old technology but even so, the Lawrance holds a much better lock on the satelites. MUCH better. It gets a quicker reading and gets more repeatable accuracy. I am told it is the type of antena they use. I have no idea what it is or compared to the others. I also like some features on it better like plotting a waypoint. Not an issue if you are doing it from a computer mind you.

I have not used one with built in maps so can't comment on that. Get one with features on the screen big enough that you can read them without sticking your face right up to them. A distance like to your dashboard and still have numbers and letters big enough to read.

My 2 cents worth.
Greg S

TomCanuck wrote:I wouldn't worry about the USB port on the GPS. While most new notebooks do not have serial ports, you can buy a converter cable for about $50.00.

Ah, but I'm on a Mac, and have yet to find a Serial to USB converter that actually works for my operating system. So — for me anyway — this is an important feature.

Dave

Greg S wrote:...the Lawrance holds a much better lock on the satelites. MUCH better. It gets a quicker reading and gets more repeatable accuracy. I am told it is the type of antena they use.

Hey Greg, is this the one you used for Northwest Challenge? It was incredible in its capability to hold on to the satellites, even without an external antenna!

Dave

Yes. It was the Lowrance that I had on the NWC. It will track well under tree cover when the Garmin won't even get an intermittant reading. In class room sessions inside, I will pick up satelites and get a fix and the Garmins won't get a single satelite. I don't know how well the Magellan works inside a building but driving to work it keeps loosing satelites as I go under tree cover. In none of these instances am I using an external antena. I'm not rich enough to buy one of those. For the Lowance the cost of the external is almost as much as the whole unit. I haven't priced one for any of the others.

Greg S

These are the places with the best prices:

http://www.gpscity.com/gps/brados/canada.html and
http://www.gpscentral.ca/

Go and look at them yourself at a local store as there is a lot of personal preference in button position and screens, then buy from the above stores.

Have a look at these tables to compare handhelds. If you want topographic capabilities, you'll need a mapping unit. Make sure to add in cost of maps and any required accessories such as power cables and automotive mounts.

http://www.gpscentral.ca/products/garmi ... arison.htm
http://www.gpscentral.ca/products/magel ... arison.htm

If you want some actual user comments, the Goecaching.com forum is the best place to ask: http://forums.groundspeak.com/gc/

Greg S wrote: I'm not rich enough to buy one of those. For the Lowance the cost of the external is almost as much as the whole unit. I haven't priced one for any of the others.

If you need a low cost antenna, look here: http://www.gpsgeek.com/page3.html

Also a good place for cables, etc...

TomCanuck wrote:Unfortunately the Garmin software does not support your Mac, so if you want to download detailed maps to the GPS, you'll need to use a windows box.

Read this
http://www.cycoactive.com/gps/gps_vpc.html

Only USB specific models (Legend C, Vista C and Quest). All other models can use a serial interface. You can still use a USB/Serial adapter on serial capable models.

Actually, I've no experience with up or downloading maps via USB (yet) and I'm not looking at it for a speedier solution than serial, but I do have about a week's experience of holding John's PC laptop on my lap continuously while traversing the Mackenzie Trail. The connection from Phil's Garmin III to the laptop essentially displayed the Garmin info on his laptop and made the tricky navigation into this quite unknown area a snap.

I was kind of hoping to get a similar connection via USB, and since the serial connection worked 3 years ago with a laptop that was less than new, I don't think connection speed is the issue. Maybe my Mac Powerbook will just have to be set aside for a windoze machine for this purpuse...

However, with a bit of ingenuity, I was hoping that there would be a way to connect the Mac to a modern GPS and get the best of both worlds. Thanks, Red90 for the site links. Reading down the page towards the bottom it appears there are some Mac success stories. I do use VirtualPC from time to time already, so it looks like I just need to get the right adapter. (and then buy a GPS)

Sorry about taking this a bit off topic from the original exploration of GPS's!

Dave